NEWS photo Mike Wakefield

PREMIER GLEN Clark announced millions in job-creating fast-ferry contracts for Vancouver Shipyards and an assembly facil-

ity for
: ‘,

PREMIER GLEN Clark announced
approximately $45 million in fast-
ferry contracts for North
Vancouver’s Vancouver Shipyards
and its subcontractors on Monday.

y. (Inset) Clark shows off his welding ability to an appreciative audience at Vancouver Drydock.

Fast-tracking the fast ferry

WHEN IT comes time to selling the catamarans, BC Ferries hopes the world will be beating
a path to North Vancouver. Suite 122 of $80 West Ist Street to be exact.

That’s the new address for Catamaran Ferries International Inc., or CFE.

By lan Noble
arena ee RA TSA ES

News Reporter

In addition. Clark confirmed rumors that
a $9-million assembly shop for the contro-
versial. ferries would be built on the
Vancouver Port Corp.-owned Picr 94 site
west of the foot of St. Andrews Avenue on
the North Vancouver waterfront.

Speaking “to workers at Vancouver
Drydock, Clark's pre-election pitch blew 4
strong gust into the B.C. shipbuilding industry's lacklustre sails.

For North Shore shipyards, the contracts mean more work now and
upgraded skills to build cutting-edge aluminum-hulled fast ferries for
export. , ;

In sharp contrast to skeptics who say the export plans won't fy
because of high local labor costs and lagging technology, Clark said
Monday's announcement represents the revitalization of B.C. shipbuild-

design.

The newly formed, 100% BC Ferries-owned subsidiary will “ensure fair distribution of the
opportunities and benefits resulting from the project and its new technologies” and fead mar-
keting efforts as the B.C. design is introduced to international customers.

The mission statement of CF! is “to create and’sustain a fast-ferry construction industry
in British Columbia that will be an internationally recognized centre of excellence.”

CFI vice president and general manager Andrew Hamilton said he’s already started mar-
keting efforts for the aluminum-hulled catamarans and has identified interest in BC Ferries’

See CFI launch page 3

“By the time the three vessels are delivered, | ain confident B.C. ship-
yards will be able to enter the international fast-ferry market, which has
grown at an extraordinary pace over the past few years, and shows no sign
of subsiding any time soon d Clark. “Fast ferries mean new jobs for
B.C. marine workers. And fast ferries ragan that new generations of BC.
murine workers with new skills will come forward to build the ships of
the 2ist century.”

See Fast ferrivs pause 3

Weather

Thursday: Cloudy with showers
High 18°C, low 8°C.

Engineer
attacks
ferry
program

Catamarans poor

choice, Ward says
BC FERRIES’ $210 million fast-
ferry program has not been with-

out its critics, although no dis-

senting words were heard during
Monday’s contract announce-
ment.

By lan Noble
News Reporter

Victoria-based murine. engineer
Robert Ward is the most vocal of those
critics. He contends that the catamarans
are a poor choice for the short Horseshoe
Bay-to-Nanaimo route. |

Said Ward: **... the only people who
believe in the viability of BC Ferries’
car-carrying catamarans are the premier
of this province and the top executives at
the Crown corporation and their gaggle
of highly paid lackeys hired to agree
with them.” .

In contrast to the contention of BC
Ferries and Clark that high-speed cata-
marans will compete in the fastest-grow-
ing sector for new car and passenger fer-
ries, Ward said most new ferries are still
of a conventionai design. ;

In addition, he said most of the fast
ferries being built are of a monohull, nat
catamaran, design. Ward added that the
BC Ferries cats ave underpowered and
will burn more fuel, create more pollu-
tion and transport fewer cars than a con-
ventional ferry on the proposed routes.

BC Ferries agrees that the catamarans
will be more expensive in fuel consump-
tion than $105-million conventional fer-
ries. But the corporation added it expects
that operating the high-speed ferries will
cost from 5% to 10% less per year than
conventional technology. Fast ferries.
which travel more frequently, also make
possible huge cost savings to terminals
and routes and reduce congestion at ter-
minals. That, said BC Ferries, will pay
environmental dividends.

Ward, and other marine engineers
who did not want to speak on the record
because they are recipients of BC Ferries
contracts, say the export plans for the
ferries are far-fetched. Other countries,
they say, are way ahead in fast-ferry
technology and have lower labor rates.

Robert Ward, however, is not against
high-speed teiries. He said they could be
used on longer routes of 50 to 300 miles,
such as Port Hardy to Prince Rupert,